Investors Bancorp, Inc. (ISBC): Insiders Are Buying, Should You?

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Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC) was in 9 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ISBC investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers recently. There were 7 hedge funds in our database with ISBC holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the eyes of most investors, hedge funds are assumed to be unimportant, outdated investment vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation today, we look at the masters of this group, close to 450 funds. It is estimated that this group controls the majority of the smart money’s total asset base, and by watching their top equity investments, we have deciphered a few investment strategies that have historically outperformed the market. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points a year for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve began to sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have outclassed the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (see all of our picks from August).

Equally as key, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are many stimuli for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if you know where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action regarding Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC).

What have hedge funds been doing with Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 29% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC)According to our comprehensive database, Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, holds the most valuable position in Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC). Renaissance Technologies has a $17.3 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Michael Price of MFP Investors, with a $1.9 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Jacob Gottlieb’s Visium Asset Management, Stephen J. Errico’s Locust Wood Capital Advisers and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As one would reasonably expect, specific money managers have jumped into Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC) headfirst. Highbridge Capital Management, managed by Glenn Russell Dubin, established the biggest position in Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC). Highbridge Capital Management had 0.3 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management also made a $0.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter.

Insider trading activity in Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC)

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time period, Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC). These stocks are Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI), Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA), First Niagara Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:FNFG), Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN), and Washington Federal Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD). This group of stocks are the members of the savings & loans industry and their market caps are similar to ISBC’s market cap.

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